The grotto behind St Mary’s Church in Granard, Co Longford, is deserted and silent, save for the cawing of crows in the leafless trees up above. A weather-worn Marian statue looks ahead, towards the church, and down the hill that leads to the town’s Main street.
The weather is cold, as it was on January 31st, 1984, when schoolgirl Ann Lovett gave birth to her stillborn baby boy Patrick, alone, in this grotto. The 15-year-old girl, lying on her back and bloodied, was later discovered by three schoolboys who called for help.
Ann died hours later, in Mullingar hospital, due to shock caused by post-partum haemorrhage and exposure.
On Tuesday morning, in the grotto, there was no indication of what happened here 40 years ago to the day – though Granard is not a town that needs reminding.
Kathleen Watkins obituary: broadcaster, author and one half of the original power couple
Wretched, haunted and glassy-eyed, David Coote was made by modern football
Ken Doherty of Assassination Custard takes a culinary tour of the ancient Italian cave-dwelling town of Matera
Owen Doyle: Ireland must ensure Scott Barrett’s claim about Joe McCarthy is not swept under the carpet
[ Ann Lovett: Death of a ‘strong, kick-ass girl’Opens in new window ]
Many of those approached by The Irish Times to speak about Ann on Tuesday refused. Requests for interview made to local figures were turned down, with little by way of explanation. Some felt they were unable to speak about the tragedy, and the weight it still carried in Granard, because they were too young, or were not from the area.
One local man, in declining to speak about Ann, said it was time to let her “lie in peace”.
“We won’t talk about Ann Lovett,” he said, walking by the post office on Main Street. “It’s time to let Ann Lovett lie in peace. It’s gone on for too long.”
Behind the counter of a shop on Main Street, a local woman was of a similar opinion. “It’s now 40 years on... let the family, let her, rest in peace,” she said.
[ The last letters of Ann Lovett and her sister TrishaOpens in new window ]
Ms Lovett’s tragedy impacts residents of the town differently, according to another local woman, aged in her late 20s. For younger locals and new arrivals in Granard, time has moved on. But for those who remember Ann’s death, January 31st is a painful reminder.
“It’s a hard time for the town,” she said, asking not to be named. “My dad would have only been a child when it happened, but he remembers it, and my granny would be the same.
“Most of them are more affected by it being brought up again. My granny, every year around the anniversary, it would be a hard time for her, because she would have been around at that time,” she said. “Coming up to the anniversary, she’d be [feeling] down.”
[ I was Ann Lovett’s boyfriendOpens in new window ]
Another woman, standing by her car on Main Street, said the release of the 2022 film Ann – a drama about Ann’s final day and inspired by two articles by Irish Times writer Rosita Boland – stoked some discussion in the town about her fate. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years,” she said, requesting anonymity.
“It’s a different world now... for the better,” she added.
Ann Lovett: do her last letters shed light on her tragic death?
Granardkill Graveyard, a short distance outside Granard, was still on Tuesday afternoon. At the Lovett family plot, two flower pots flanked a large, grey headstone.
Ann and her son were buried in one coffin, days before news of her death made national headlines.
Three months after her death, her 14-year-old sister Patricia died by suicide. Ann’s father, Diarmuid, died in 1987, while her mother, Patricia, died in 2015.
To this day, it is unclear who was the father of Ms Lovett’s baby.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here